The Official NaKniSweMo 2008 sweater

Here is a photo of the official NaKniSweMo 2008 sweater. The pattern will be coming out later today or tomorrow, and it will be for sale on Ravelry (look in my Rav pattern store), in the Knitgrrl pattern shop and inside this post as soon as the file is available.

A little background: Elaine (mom2bassets on Rav) took my sweater design class at Stitch Cleveland last month. This is what she designed in class (and now she’s well into her second no-pattern-required sweater, which I got to see yesterday. It’s beautiful!)

As you might guess from her username, she loves animals, too. We decided, after seeing how quickly her lovely design knits up, to make it the official NaKniSweMo sweater and to raise money for one of our local no-kill shelters. Berea Animal Rescue does wonderful work — my family has supported them for years.

It’s a simple yet compelling knit in Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran, which, although discontinued, is kicking around a lot of yarn stores and stashes if you want to be exact. If you want to substitute, there are plenty of possibilities. It would look great in Noro, Cascade, Tahki Donegal Tweed…you name it.

Stay tuned — the pattern is coming soon!

(BTW, the bassets are Elaine’s — say hi to Abigail and William, who are just so incredibly adorable in person, you cannot imagine)

Elaine, What a perfectly flattering sweater, with or without a collar or turtleneck underneath. The furry siblings (brother and sister) would look really cute in a lighterweight version, ending at the middle of their long bodies when out for a cold Cleveland evening stroll. How fortunate they are to be in your family. So nice to see such creative talent being put to constructive use.